Matthew B. Johnson, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. Professor Johnson’s training is in clinical psychology. He is widely published in the area of interrogation and false confessions, as well as in other areas involving psychology and law. In 2008 he developed and began teaching the graduate level course titled, “Interrogation and Confession: Social Science, Legal Perspectives, and Current Controversies” which was offered to students in both Psychology and Criminal Justice. During the Spring of 2010 Professor Johnson taught this course as a Visiting Professor at the Rutgers University, School of Criminal Justice. Professor Johnson has served as an expert witness in numerous cases involving disputed confession evidence dealing with matters of reliability (false confessions) as well as the matter of a suspect’s competence to waive the right to silence and counsel. Professor Johnson has published on interrogation and false confession in the Journal of Psychiatry & Law, Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, American Journal of Forensic Psychology, the American Psychology-Law Newsletter, and other professional forums.
From 2002 until the present Professor Johnson served on the Executive Committee of New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (NJADP.org) which was the lead organization in the successful campaign to abolish the New Jersey death penalty in 2007. Professor Johnson also served on the ABA, Section on Individual Rights & Responsibilities – Task Force on Mental Disability and the Death Penalty during 2003-2005. In 2003 Professor Johnson delivered the Frantz Fanon, MD Memorial Lecture titled, “The Central Park Jogger Case – Police Coercion and Secrecy in Interrogation” which was later published in the Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice. Professor Johnson was named the John Jay College of Criminal Justice Outstanding Teacher in 2007. In 2008 Professor Johnson served on the organizing committee for the conference titled, “Interrogation and Torture Controversy: Crisis in Psychology” at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The conference focus was on the research, practice and ethical issues related to psychologists involvement in the interrogation of detainees. See article in The Journal of Psychiatry & Law.